An Oscillator Incorporating a Planar Helical Resonator for Phase Noise Reduction and Harmonic Suppression

This paper describes a compact printed helical resonator and its application to a microwave oscillator circuit implemented in coplanar waveguide(CPW) technology. The high Q-factor and spurious-free characteristic of the resonator contribute to the phase noise reduction and the harmonic suppression of the resulting oscillator circuit, respectively. The designed resonator resonating at the frequency of 5.5 GHz showed a loaded Q of 180 in a chip area of only 40 % of the corresponding miniaturized hairpin resonator without any spurious resonances. The fully planar oscillator incorporated with this resonator showed additional phase noise reduction of 10.5 dB at 1 MHz offset and a second harmonic suppression enhancement of 6 dB when compared to those of a conventional CPW oscillator without the planar helical resonator(PHR) structure.